Putin tells Britain to reverse ‘hostile line’ on Ukraine or Russia could hit UK military targets

Vladimir Putin has told the UK to reverse its ‘hostile and aggressive stance’ on Ukraine or Russia could attack British military sites.

The chilling warning comes after Prime Minister Andy Burnham was told earlier this week Britain could face Russian retaliation over its ‘unwavering’ support for Ukraine and to be prepared for a ‘direct response’ from Moscow.

A spokeperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry today clarified that ‘catastrophic consequences’ awaited the UK if they did not abandon their current position with Ukraine and, if not, could target ‘British military installations and equipment’.

On Monday, Burnham swapped blueprints for the long-range Scalp missile with Moscow’s enemy in a visit to Kiev, that would allow Ukraine to build their own weapons, rather than rely on imports. 

Maria Zakharova, Moscow’s most prominent woman diplomat who is spokeswoman for Vladimir Putin’s Foreign Ministry, said: ‘Any British military installations and equipment in Ukraine and beyond could be the response to Ukrainian strikes using British weapons on Russian territory.

‘Those guilty of war crimes, including against the civilian population of our country, will be punished according to their actions.

‘Inevitable punishment awaits their accomplices and instigators, and we call on all residents of the United Kingdom to consider the inevitable catastrophic consequences of their own government’s hostile actions.

‘We urge the British leadership to once again thoroughly analyse the situation and immediately, decisively and unequivocally, abandon their hostile and aggressive stance.’

Zakharova further said that France and Britain were ‘playing with fire’ by supplying sensitive missile technology to Ukraine, a move she warned could have unpredictable consequences for Paris and London.

Britain announced on Monday it would allow Kyiv access to classified technology to start its own production of Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles, capable of carrying out strikes deep within Russia. France has already given its assent to license the technology for the European missile.

After Burnham’s visit in Kiev, Moscow accused the UK of ‘participating’ in its war with Ukraine and warned then that they would identify ‘the production sites of such missiles, the production sites of other military equipment’ in order to destroy them.

As such, UK security chiefs have been primed for a Kremlin attack on Britain and major UK defence manufacturers are believed to be stepping up their physical security and adopting measures to prevent cyber attacks. 

Putin’s warning comes a day after CIA director John Ratcliffe made a surprise trip to Moscow where he issued a warning to the Kremlin not to escalate the conflict in Ukraine, either by using a nuclear weapon or targeting Kyiv’s Western allies.

The ‘just don’t do it’ advice was based on US intelligence that Russia is primed to act immediately and dramatically after its campaign on the battlefield stalled again. 

American officials have suggested that Moscow could attempt to seize Nato territory in a small scale incursion to test the alliance, in a worst-case scenario prediction based on US intelligence, per The Wall Street Journal.

The White House nor the CIA have clarified the reasons of Ratcliffe’s trip. 

However, the Kremlin this morning dismissed media speculation on the rare visit of the spy chief: ‘A lot of such scare stories are being published right now. Of course, they have nothing to do with reality.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added that Russia ‘is facing a very aggressive policy towards itself from European countries’.

Following the visit, the Kremlin hinted it was not looking for peace with the West, warning ‘it is too early to say if the deep crisis in US-Russia relations can be overcome’, before boasting ‘Ukraine is definitely losing the war’. 

Voices in Moscow calling for nuclear warheads are becoming louder, and the President is surveying his options for escalation, according to sources.

Earlier this month, Russia hosted war games with nuclear–capable missiles in the Barents Sea, in what many considered to be a warning to Nato.

Moscow has already been accused of waging a shadow war across the continent through sabotage, cyber attacks, drones, disinformation and intimidation – tactics designed to cause disruption while staying below the threshold for a military response.

British spy chief Anne Keast-Butler has warned that the UK and its allies now occupy ‘a space between peace and war’, with Russian activity stretching ‘from the seabed to cyberspace’.

Before departing No10, Sir Keir Starmer had warned Russia could launch an attack on a Nato country in the next four years, western intelligence assessments had indicated. 

Putin had earlier been advised the new incumbent in No10 would be ‘softer than [Sir Keir] Starmer’ but the despot’s hopes were dashed by the PM’s efforts to fortify the UK-Ukraine military alliance in recent weeks.

A senior source told the Daily Mail earlier this week said an ‘attack on the UK’s defence and security infrastructure is inevitable’.

They added it could be ‘a drone attack, or an arson attack’, claiming ‘there are Russian sleeper cells in this country that could do either’.

The source went on to say: ‘Russia is testing our security infrastructure on a daily basis… Something bigger is only a matter of time. Russia just needs to keep it low enough to avoid a military response by Nato.’

Other sources said that Russia’s sudden withdrawal of its ambassador to London was being taken as a sign that ‘something big is coming’.

Russian drones are already testing European airspace and defences, posing a major threat to the continent’s safety, with Western fighter jets scrambled numerous times in recent weeks to shoot down drones.

It was reported earlier this week that Britons will be urged by the Government to stock up on tinned food and bottled water in case of emergencies like extreme weather, cyber attacks or hostile state action.